7 Proven Dead Hang Benefits
Key takeaways:
A dead hang is an exercise that involves hanging, usually from a horizontal bar, with your arms fully extended.
Dead hang benefits include better posture, flexibility, and increased upper body, core, and grip strength.
You can try dead hang variations — such as an active, mixed grip, or single-arm dead hang — based on your fitness level.
A dead hang is an underrated and underutilized exercise despite its many benefits. The move — hanging from a horizontal bar with your arms fully extended — can improve grip strength and posture. Although it might sound simple, a dead hang requires core strength and stability. Once you try it, you'll quickly see why it's worth the effort.
Learn more about the benefits of dead hangs and how to do the exercise correctly.
Benefits of dead hanging
Although a seemingly simple exercise, the dead hang offers many health benefits, especially for your musculoskeletal system.
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1. Strengthens upper body and core
Dead hanging doesn't require movement, but that doesn't mean your muscles aren’t working. As you hang from a bar in a static position, it engages the following upper-body muscles:
Forearms
Hand and wrist flexors
Shoulders, including your deltoids, rotator cuff, and rhomboids
Upper back, including your latissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles
Core, especially your abdominals and obliques
By recruiting your upper body and core to stay stable while dead hanging, the exercise can help strengthen these muscles over time.
2. Improves grip strength
Recent studies have shown that grip strength is an important indicator of total-body strength, health, and longevity. A firm grip is also crucial for everyday tasks like opening, carrying, and lifting objects.
A dead hang is one way to test your grip strength as you hold the bar to support your body weight. The longer you maintain a dead hang, the more you challenge your hand, wrist, and forearm muscles. This can help you build a stronger grip over time.
3. Builds muscular endurance
Perfecting the dead hang is a great way to build muscular endurance, which allows your muscles to contract or hold a static position for an extended period. It's essential for functional mobility and athletic performance.
Add more isometric exercises to your routine. Practice these moves to improve functional strength and fitness.
Strengthen your grip. Try these exercises for a firmer grip.
Perfect your posture. Get started with posture-correcting exercises.
Isometric exercises like dead hangs require you to contract your muscles without moving. They've been shown to improve muscular endurance and functional strength. In a small study, rock climbers completed a weighted dead hang training program. After 4 weeks, they had better grip strength and endurance.
This is especially good news because isometric exercises have been linked to lower blood pressure. And increased muscle strength and endurance have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
4. Corrects posture
A common tip for good posture is to pull your shoulders back and down. This can help correct your posture temporarily. But strengthening core muscles, as dead hangs do, is critical for improving your posture over time. A strong core helps keep your spine aligned, which may prevent slouching during everyday activities. Plus, dead hanging also works back muscles, such as the lats and traps, which are essential for an upright posture.
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5. May decompress the spine
Dead hangs may promote spinal decompression by restoring space between the vertebrae, joints, and discs. Spinal compression can be caused by conditions like osteoarthritis and scoliosis. It can also be caused by activities like heavy lifting or manual labor.
During a dead hang, gravity pulls your body downward, stretching your spine and possibly easing pressure and tension. But more research is needed to determine how much dead hanging can decompress the spine and if this decompression relieves pain.
6. Increases flexibility
Dead hanging doesn't just stretch your spine. Gravity also helps lengthen upper back and shoulder muscles. These muscles often stiffen due to poor posture, prolonged sitting, and inactivity. Stretching them during a dead hang may increase flexibility and range of motion in these areas.
7. Enhances shoulder mobility
The deep stretch that dead hangs provide can work wonders for your shoulder mobility. A dead hang fully extends your shoulders, which can release muscle tension, enhance flexibility, and increase range of motion. It also pulls the shoulders back into proper alignment and strengthens muscles for easier, more fluid movement.
How to do a dead hang
You only need a pull-up bar and a sturdy bench or step to practice a passive dead hang. Ideally, set up the pull-up bar so you can hang without your feet touching the floor. If that's not an option, you can bend your knees and tuck your feet up while dead hanging.
Most gyms will have pull-up bars. Wherever you practice dead hangs, make sure the pull-up bar is secure enough to support your body weight.
Once you find a bar, performing a dead hang is relatively straightforward.
Step 1: Stand tall on a sturdy bench or exercise step. Grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) with both hands, placing them about shoulder-width apart.
Step 2: Step off the bench or step so you’re handing from the bar.
Step 3: Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended, core engaged, and feet off the floor.
Step 4: Hold this position for 15-20 seconds, then rest. You can repeat this several times in one workout, maxing out at 60 seconds of total hang time.
Avoid these common mistakes while doing a dead hang:
Letting your body weight hang without support: An unsupported dead hang occurs when you don't tighten or engage your core while hanging. This can lead to injuries and reduce the core-strengthening benefits.
Bending your elbows: You want your arms to be fully extended throughout the exercise.
Holding your breath: This is a common mistake during isometric holds. But holding your breath will restrict oxygen flow and make you tense up, which may inhibit performance.
Dead hang variations
Once you've mastered the dead hang, you can try variations to boost its benefits.
Active dead hang
In a standard, passive dead hang, your overhand grip is relaxed, and your shoulders are slightly raised. Passive hangs require less strength and are primarily used for deeper stretching and grip strength.
But in an active hang, you engage back and shoulder muscles further by keeping your shoulders down and away from your ears.
Single-arm dead hang
A single-arm dead hang challenges you to hang from the bar using only one arm at a time. Supporting your body weight with just one arm reduces stability and balance. This makes this variation much harder and more advanced than a traditional dead hang.
Mixed grip dead hang
Dead hangs are usually done with an overhand (pronated) grip, with palms facing away. In a mixed grip dead hang, one hand is in an overhand grip, while the other is in an underhand grip (palm facing you). This variation further challenges your grip strength.
The bottom line
A dead hang is a straightforward movement with significant benefits, such as increased grip strength and improved shoulder mobility. The barrier to entry for this exercise is low for people with full mobility. You only need a secured pull-up bar and an exercise step or bench.
With the help of gravity, the dead hang allows your upper body and spine to stretch, which can decrease pressure and tension in these areas. Advanced variations, like a single-arm or mixed grip dead hang, will up the ante for those looking for an added challenge.
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References
64 Training Systems. (2021). Mixed grip dead bar hang [video]. YouTube.
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FitWitFitness. (2018). Active hang for pull-up strength [video]. YouTube.
Hsu, S., et al. (2018). Effects of core strength training on core stability. Journal of Physical Therapy Science.
Human 2.0 Fitness. (2023). Ortho surgeon Dr. Chris says everyone should be able to do this exercise: The dead hang [video]. YouTube.
Lopez-Jaramillo, P., et al. (2022). Muscular strength in risk factors for cardiovascular disease and mortality: A narrative review. The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology.
López-Rivera, E., et al. (2019). The effects of a weighted dead-hang training program on grip strength and endurance in expert climbers with different levels of strength. 4th International Rock Climbing Research Congress.
Oranchuk, D. J., et al. (2018). Isometric training and long-term adaptations: Effects of muscle length, intensity, and intent: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
The Strength Institute. (2021). Single arm hangs - tutorial [video]. YouTube.
Trosclair, D., et al. (2011). Hand-grip strength as a predictor of muscular strength and endurance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
Vaishya, R., et al. (2024). Hand grip strength as a proposed new vital sign of health: a narrative review of evidences. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition.
